July 30 - August 2, 2026
ODC Theater
3153 17th St.
San Francisco, CA 94110
Savor the richness of summer with a taste of ODC/Dance. Catch the celebrated return of ODC Fellow KT Nelson’s “surreal and compassionate” Nothing's Gonna Make Sense (Reflections on Grief), and Co-Artistic Director Mia J. Chong’s world premiere in collaboration with EIGHT/MOVES.
"This is such a crucial time in the arts to think differently and to approach work in subversive ways.” - Gypsy Snider
ODC is offering a group discount of 10% off orders of 4+ tickets. Use code ODC10 at checkout. For groups of 8+ use code SSGROUP8 for 50% off tickets. Priority seating available for Supporter Level Ticket holders starting at 7:00PM (general seating opens at 7:15PM). Supporter Level Ticket holders also receive a free drink or snack when they present their ticket at concessions!
About the Work
- Nothing's Gonna Make Sense (Reflections on Grief) (world premiere) Choreography by KT Nelson
Nothing's Gonna Make Sense (Reflections on Grief) reflects on Nelson’s experience of the sudden death of her husband, an event that significantly altered her sense of reality. The work invites you to (experience -or accept- the unknown) hang out in the unknown? and not panic.
“bravely weird, risky, simultaneously masterful and uncontrolled” - San Francisco Chronicle
KT NELSON (ODC Fellow) joined ODC/Dance in 1976 and partnered with Brenda Way in directing the ODC/Dance Company until 2020. KT choreographed the Company’s first full-length family ballet in 1986, The Velveteen Rabbit. The production has become a holiday tradition in the Bay Area engaging generations of dance goers.
KT has been awarded the Isadora Duncan Dance Award four times: in 1987 for Outstanding Performance, in 1996 and 2012 for Outstanding Choreography, and in 2001 for Sustained Achievement. Her collaborators have included Bobby McFerrin, Geoff Hoyle, Amy Seiwert, Shinichi Iova-Koga, Kate Weare, Zap Mama, and Joan Jeanrenaud. Her work RingRounRozi, in collaboration with French-Canadian composer Linda Bouchard, was selected to be performed at the Tanzmesse International Dance Festival. boulders and bones, in collaboration with Brenda Way, was part of BAM’s Next Wave Festival. Her One Long Breath collaboration with Na Hoon Park was selected for the MODAFE festival in Seoul, Korea. Path of Miracles, created in collaboration with the Volti Vocal Ensemble, is her third evening-length work and has toured across the country.
In 1996, Nelson founded the ODC Dance Jam (ages 6-13). As ODC’s first director of Educational Outreach, Nelson did extensive community work including partnerships with the Kohler Arts Center, University of Florida at Gainesville, Everett Middle School, San Francisco Mime Troupe, San Francisco’s Writers Union, Thunder Road Drug Rehabilitation and more. From 2004 to 2007, she ran the dance department for the summer program Center for Creative Youth at Wesleyan University. She has mentored with the Margaret Jenkin’s Chime Project, co-founded RoundAntennae and continues to mentor emerging artists in the Bay Area and abroad.
- World Premiere Choreography by Mia J. Chong
A world premiere from Mia J. Chong features a collaborative ensemble of dancers from EIGHT/MOVES and ODC/Dance. The work examines how shared internal states, often held but not spoken, can transform through care, resilience, and collective healing.
MIA J. CHONG (Co-Artistic Director) was born and raised in San Francisco, where she began her dance training at the ODC School at age 5. Mia danced with Robert Moses’ Kin and Dance Theatre of San Francisco before joining ODC/Dance, where she performed for six seasons and received a Princess Grace Award and Chris Hellman Dance Honor for her work as a company dancer. She returned to the company as Staging Director in 2024, where she has collaborated with Brenda Way and KT Nelson on numerous restagings and reimaginations of ODC/Dance repertory and assisted guest choreographer Sidra Bell in creating new work.
Mia was the founding Artistic Director of EIGHT/MOVES, a contemporary dance company dedicated to creating unity through movement and utilizing dance to generate cultural and social
change. Through EIGHT/MOVES, she has collaborated with Rena Butler, Keerati Jinakunwiphat, KT Nelson, RJ Muna, and Sidney Chen. Mia’s choreography has been presented by Post:ballet, FACT/SF, RAWdance, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, UC Berkeley, Gonzaga University, BODYSONNET, and more. Her choreography for film has been selected and screened by more than ten festivals around the world, reaching audiences in South Korea, England, Turkey, and Italy. Mia has also received a Jacob’s Pillow Hicks Choreography Fellowship, Aninstantia Grant, Zellerbach Community Arts Grant, Alonzo King LINES Ballet Homer Avila Award, and Metro Film and Arts Foundation Grant, among other honors. She earned a BA in Social Sciences with a concentration in Organizational Behavior and Change from New York University and an MS in Arts Administration and Cultural Entrepreneurship from Northeastern University. Mia is grateful for the constant support from Brenda, KT, Kimi, and the countless other mentors she’s found through the ODC community throughout her journey, and she is excited to premiere her first work on ODC/Dance at Summer Sampler this July.
About ODC/Dance
Founded in 1971 by Artistic Director Brenda Way, ODC/Dance was one of the first American companies to incorporate a post-modern sensibility (an appreciation for pedestrian movement) into a virtuosic contemporary dance technique and to commit major resources to interdisciplinary collaboration and musical commissions for the repertory.
Arts Access Tickets
ODC offers a limited number of free and/or lower-cost Art Access tickets to every ODC presented performance. For most performances in B. Way Theater, twenty tickets are allocated to the Arts Access tiers. These additionally subsidized tickets, available on a first-come, first-serve basis, are reserved for those for whom price is a barrier. Please contact boxoffice@odc.dance if you or your organization is interested in underwriting the cost of additional Arts Access tickets.